Between a rotating member (such as a shaft) and a fixed member (a housing of some type) there must be placed a bearing assembly such as a roller bearing. Within the fixed member is formed a seat within which the roller bearing is to be snugly retained. The inner race of the roller bearing is to support the rotatable shaft with the outer race being press fitted against the fixed housing.
The normal method of inserting the roller bearing within the seat is to position the roller bearing partially within the seat and then, to apply a force as with a hammer and a tool (such as a screwdriver) to securely seat the roller bearing by repeatedly moving the screwdriver around the outer race of the roller bearing as the hammer strikes the base of the screwdriver. The end result is usually a not perfect seating of the roller bearing and also the seating procedure is rather time consuming.
It would be more desirable to apply the force to the outer race of the roller bearing in an even manner and also longitudinally with respect to the shaft. The end result would be a perfect seating for the roller bearing and in no way could it be misaligned.
However, the conventional seal and bearing installation tools are not capable of seating roller bearings because the shaft would physically interfere with the tool accomplishing the installation. Previously, there has been no known tool which is to accomplish the correct seating of a shaft supporting roller bearing within a seat formed in a fixed housing. The foregoing discussion, although directed to roller bearings, is also applicable to seals when the seal is employed to seal a shaft with respect to a fluid chamber.